Brits take their time when buying holidays online

Tuesday, January 12, 2016 - 09:42 by Graham Miller

A new survey from Rocket Fuel has revealed that people in the UK leave it later than holidaymakers in any other country in Europe to book a trip, whether they are travelling abroad or sticking with a domestic excursion.

The study found that Brits are also particularly voracious when it comes to their consumption of ads relating to travel when they are in the process of planning a holiday, encountering more marketing messages and conducting more research via safe shopping online than any other part of the EU.

When it comes to the biggest hotel brands, Premier Inn is the winner amongst people from the UK, indicating that this particular firm is winning over plenty of people who want a combination of affordability, consistency and quality.

Booking a holiday online is easier than ever and the Brits that compare different destinations and resorts before making a decision also have a number of criteria which need to be met, to make a potential hotel worth considering. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the most important asset that travellers seek out is access to Wi-Fi connectivity, which fits in with the web-savvy reputation that the UK has developed, thanks to its love of all things e-commerce.

While it might be thought that British people are more relaxed about making bookings than their continental counterparts, it is just as likely that consumers from the UK are willing to spend a bit more time considering their options and checking up on prices before committing to a particular package, thus extending the buying process as a result.

The internet has made it safer and more affordable to arrange for travel, book accommodation and find out about local attractions and consumers are eager to take advantage of all these services.